Joseph sachs



(No Model.)

J. SfLGlS.` 'SIGNAL FOR CABLE RAILWAYS.

Patented Dec. 19, 1893.

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' wuumaro .i UNITED STATES- PATENr JOSEPH SACHS, NE'V YORK, N. Y.

SIGNAL i FOR CABLE RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 51 1,163, dated December 19, 189?. Application tiled August 4, 1893. Serial No. 482.349. .die model.)

To cir/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, JOSEPH SACHS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and State of New York, have inventedan Improvement in Signals for Gable Railways, of which the following is a specification.

Cable railways have been provided with electric signals to the power house whereby the conductor or gripman can signal for the stoppage ot the engine or the slowing up of the same in cases of necessity, but difficulty has been experienced in giving such signals withthe promptness sometimes rendered necessary in cases of accident or failure of the grip to disconnect the car.

In my improvement a signaling box is placed in the conduit or adjacent thereto and a movable device is connected with the car through a plate inthe slot rail, which movable device can be brought into contact with an actuating apparatus for the signal box, so that themovement of the car energizes the signal box to send a signal to the power house when the actuating device is moved by the conductor or gripman, and in connection with the signal box l arrange the electric'circuits and spring contacts in such a manner that a telephone may be introduced iu the electric circuit or signalsmayl be: given by hand in addition to the signal sent by the signal box.

t In the drawings, Figure l is a cross section illustrating the two conduits of a cable raill way and indicating the positions in which the signal boxes, may be placed. Fig. 2 represents the electric devices vthat may be carried on the car. Fic. 3isa section longitudinally of the conduit illustrating the relative position of the grip and the devices for actuating the signal boxes, and Fig. 4 illustrates the device for stopping the engine.

The conduits A and B are of any desired character and the cables are represented at C- C', andthe grip D is to be ot any desired character, and that which is shown in the drawings is only illustrative of a grip, because the present improvement is available with any character of conduit or grip.

In Fig` 1 I have represented three signal boxes E Fand G, and these signal boxes and the signaling devices or circuit closing wheels contained in such boxes may be ot any desired character. The boxes E andrG are represented as within the conduit and preferably at or near manholes, and the box F is represented as between the tracks so as lo be actuated from either of the conduits; and it is to be yunderstood that these boxes are to be placed at suitable distances apart along the line ofthe cable railway, but for convenience of illustration they are represented as in line with each other transversely of the railway.

Signal boxes are Well known in fire alarm systems and the movement of the circuit closing Wheel or segment is employed to open and close the electric circuit and give the pre scribed signal at the distant station. In this instance the electric conductors are to run to the power house, and at H a relay magnet is presented to a local circuit containing a battery I and a sounder or gong K, and there may also be a register ot any suitable character, as illustrated at L, to note down the signal sent in and the time at which such signal is sont, it` desired, registers of this charactor being well known iu the market, and I prefer to make use at the power house of a telephone M that is normally connected in the main line circuit, and when the `plug 2 is introduced between the electrodes 3 and 4 the telephone M is short circuited, and when such plug is drawn out the telephone is included in the mainline circuit; and it will be evident by the diagrammatic representation of the wires 5 of the main circuit, the battery 6 and the switch 7, that any desired number of signal boxes E F or G may be included in the main line circuit and that when a signal is sent by either box the relay magnet will be actuated and the gong sounded in the local circuit corresponding to the pulsations given upon the main' line by the circuit closing wheels or similar devices in the respective signal boxes.

As before mentioned, it is to be understood that the signaling devices in the respective boxes may be of any desired character; I have howeverrepresented in the signal boxes E and G wheels or sectors 8 on the shafts Elthat are provided with crank arms 10 on their outer ends, and the wheels or sectors 8 are provided with insulating and conducting material alternately upon the edge or periphery thereof for opening and closing the main circuit through the springs 11, and it is advantageous to employ a spring or weight 12 that is wound up or elevated by acting upon the crank arm 10, and by its descent or recoil the circuit closing wheel or sector is moved, there central box F the circuit closing wheel 13 is actuated by the cross rock shafts 14 and 25 and a weight or spring 15 with intermediate ratchet wheel and pawl 28 and gearing between the shaft 14 and the circuit wheel 13, and there are crank arms 16 and 17 on the respective ends of the cross shafts 14, and 25 one crank arm being in one conduit and the other crank arm in the other conduit, so that wheneither arm is acted upon the spring 15 will be strained or the weight raised, and this spring or weight when the rock shafts are liberated will return the rock shafts to theirnormal position and rotate the circuit closing wheel 13 and send a signal over the electric circuitto the power house.

In order to actuate the crank arm 10, 16 or 17, any suitable device may be made use of that is connected with the car that is pro ypelled by the cable. -I have represented piates Nasextending down through the track slot 18 and supporting the shafts O which are provided with arms P that can be swung around horizontally so as to be in the path of either thelarin 10, 16V or 17, and by the movement of the car the arm P will give to the arm 10, 16 or 17 the necessary motion to actuate the signal box.

It is advantageous to provide upon the upper ends o'fitheshaft O sprocket wheels Q and chains R to the sprocket wheels S upon the verticalshafts T at the respective ends of the car, and which vertical shafts T can be actuatedby the conductor or gripman so as to turn or move the arms P either in one direction or the other to bring the arm into the proper position for acting upon the arm and rock shaft of the 'signal box.

It is advantageous to provide with each car a telephone U connected with a movable board Vwhich also `carries a switch 19, and electromagnet v`2O, anda bell 21 that can be rung by the armature of the electro-magnet andfa tin` ger key W, and the circuit wires can be arranged in the manner represented and a flexible conductor provided with a contact wedge X to be inserted between the spring contacts 22\.that Aare provided in the electric circuit that passesl through the box F so that when thiswedge X is putin between the springs "22 the circuitis closed through the contact wedgeX, and when the switch 19 is in one position the circuit is closed through the nger key WV and magnet 2O so that such magnet and the bell can be used for'recei'ving a signal from the power house, or the finger key 1V can be used in sending a signal to the power house, the magnet 2O and bell 2l responding to the movements of the finger key and showing' the circuit to be in order, and when the switch 19 is moved into the position shown by dotted lines the magnet 2O is cut out and the telephone U brought into the circuit. It is to be understood that thisboard V and the appliances therewith connected can be easily carried in each car and can be made use of at one ofthe signal boxes F, because such signal box F is provided with a movable cover23 by lifting which access is given for the insertion of the contact wedge X between the springs 22, or it' desired, a pull 2li can be providedA in the signal box F as in ordinary tire alarm signal boxes by the actuation of which pull 24 they signal can be given to the central station Vby the rotation of the circuit wheel in such signal box F.

It will now be apparent that bythe devices herein described la signal canbe sent to the power house from the moving car and communication can be given'in addition through the signal box F by a finger key or by a telephone, and also the conductor or griplnan can give a signal by the circuit closing wheel of the signal box F by the hand pull 24 after the cover 23 has been raised.

Where the signal box is placed betweenthe tracks, such signal box is available with both tracks and 'can ybe actuated from a car on either track and in many places it may be preferable to employ only the signal 'boxes between thet-racks, or the signal boxes E or G alone may be made use of within the trench and preferably adjacent to or at themanholes in the respective tracks.

It is advantageous to employ metallic circuit connections without ground connections in signals of this character, and the circuit connections may be made so as to include any desired number of signal boxes.

In cases where the signal box F is to be actuated from both tracks, it is advantageous to have two shafts leiand 25 in the same plane extending from the respective conduits and connected together by two gears 26 and 27, so thatithe direction of motion` given to the circuit closing wheels may'bethe same when the parts are actuated from 'either one track or the other.

'Vhere it is desirable to give two dierent IOO IIO

In some instances it becomes important to stop the engine Without Waiting for the engineer to shut olf 4the steam. ln this case l provide a local circuit and a battery adapted to run the motor 3l, and this is brought into action by the relay magnet H, as representedin Fig. et, such battery and local cir` cuit being connected through the same armature of the relay magnet H. 'that is shown in Fig. 1, and from the shaft ofthe motor armature a motion is communicated to the throttle valve 33 in the steam pipe 34, preferably by sprocket Wheels and a chain 35,50 that when the electric circuit is broken anywhere upon the line and the armature of the relay magnet H flies back, the motor is brought into action and closes the throttle valve to stop the engine.

I do not limit myself to any particular character of signaling mechanism actuated from the car, as the signaling devices may be mag- :netic and similar to those used in the call box of a telephone. i

l claim as my inventionl.. The combination With 4th'e conduit in a cable railway, of signal boxes having movable circuit controlling devices and mechanical appliances connected to and moving with the cable and car and capable of being brought into action for moving the circuit controlling devices in the signal box, and a signal at the power house, substantially as set forth.

A signal box having circuit controlling devices, a rock shaft and an arm outside the signal box, in combination with a cable raili way and car and a connection extending down from the car through the slot rail and an arm carried by such connection, and mechanism upon the car for moving the arm to bring the same into the path of the arm upon the rock shaft and actuate the signal box by the motion of the cable, substantially as setfort-h.

3. The combination with the cable in a cable railway and the electric circuit connections extending to the power house signal, of a signal box and its circuit controlling devices, a car and the cable grip and mechanism for actuating such circuit controlling devices by the motion of the cable, a telephone and a movable plug for the circuit extending 5o to the power house, substantially as set forth.

li. The combination with the cable in a ca ble railway and the electric circuit connectionsl extending to the power house, of a signal box and its circuit controlling devices, a car and the cable grip and mechanism for actuing such circuit controlling devices from the motion of the cable, contacts in the electric circuit extending to the power house, a movable plug and circuit connections and a telephone, an electro-magnet and bell, and a iinger-key and switch connected with the movable circuit Wires, whereby a signal can be sent to the power house or received from the saine or the telephone made use of on the car, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the cable and a vehicle moved by the cable, of electric signal boxes adjacent to the track, mechanism 'such as a movable arm upon the car adapted to be so placed as to bring into action thesignal box by the movement of the cable and car, and an electric circuit and apparatus at the central station for receiving the signal, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a cable railway and a vehicle moved thereon and circuit connections to the power house, of tWo signal boxes adjacent to the track on which the vehicleruns and adapted to send two different signals, and means upon the car for bringing either of the two boxes into action for transmitting its signals to the central station,sub stantially as set forth.

7. The combination With a vehicle and a cable for moving the same, of signal boxes adjacent to the cable, an electric circuit connecting the signal boxes with the central station and devices that can be actuated from either end of the car for operating the signal boxes by the movement of the cable and car, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 3d day of August, 1893.

JOSEPH SACHS. 

